Friday, October 28, 2011

Any way you spell it, apple cider donuts are a delicious part of fall. The local apple orchards have a corner spot at the farmer's market where they sell everything from strawberry-rhubarb pie to slushy cider. While pregnant (many, many years ago) I happened upon a small package of apple cider donuts at the stand and couldn't resist.

The cinnamon sugar melted against my tongue as I bit into the crisp exterior. The inside was reminiscent of an old fashioned buttermilk donut with the faintest hint of apple-y goodness.

That was the beginning of a love affair with cider donuts.

Fast forward to this fall. At the point that my beloved donuts were available, I had realized my sensitivity to dairy was pretty severe. I knew I would have to end things, but my heart would pang as we drove near the market. Something had to be done.

Today, I think I have not only replicated the recipe - I may have even improved it.

The kids occasionally ask for the frozen gluten-free donuts at the grocery store, but they're a tad expensive and a tad... not great.

After my first batch of donuts, I can safely say that I will never, ever buy them again! They were remarkably easy and taste amazing warm. I think you'll find that it's worth the bit of effort involved in making them from scratch.

So, when I realized that the source of my (five years worth of!) abdominal pain may be related to dairy, my heart cracked a little at the thought of never having the amber nectar of the gods again.

Now, let me tell you - this was no small feat. I'm a caramel snob. Melted waxy squares from a bag will not do. It has to be right.

I adapted my recipe and found it opaque and creamy with a slightly coconutty taste. Bad? Not really. But it wasn't perfect caramel.

So, I tried another recipe from another blogger. Utter and complete fail. It was gritty, separated, and runny. That one ended up in the trash after cooling in the fridge overnight and yielding nothing worth salvaging.

This morning, I decided it was worth it to try one last time. I could have used the creamy caramel above for the kids' apple dip, but really? I would have been disappointed in me. I don't do disappointment well.

I came back to my original recipe with a little tweak and VOILA! It's perfect!